JP5024631B2 - Sorting equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sorting facility that sorts articles transported from a transport upstream side of a main transport path by sending them to a branch transport path with a delivery roller as necessary.

  Conventionally, as an article sorting facility, a main conveyance path for conveying articles, a branch conveyance path connected to a side portion of the main conveyance path, and an article conveyed from the upstream side of conveyance of the main conveyance path as necessary 2. Description of the Related Art There are known devices that include a sorting device that feeds to a branch conveyance path with a feed roller (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 below).

In this delivery roller type sorting equipment, in order to deliver articles stably and reliably to the branch conveyance path, a number of delivery rollers are arranged at predetermined intervals in the conveyance direction and width direction of the main conveyance path. Yes.
JP 2005-280868 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-240819

  However, if a plurality of delivery rollers are arranged side by side in the conveyance direction of the main conveyance path, the distance between the most upstream roller and the most downstream roller increases accordingly, and there is a problem in that the sorting ability is lowered. In other words, when sorting a plurality of articles continuously, the succeeding article is allowed to enter the most upstream roller until the preceding article has completely passed through the most downstream roller of the sorting apparatus. However, at least an interval between the most upstream roller and the most downstream roller must be secured between the front and rear articles. For this reason, as the roller interval becomes larger, the interval between the articles has to be increased, and accordingly, the conveying capacity and the sorting ability of the sorting equipment are reduced accordingly.

  The sorting facilities described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 try to avoid a decrease in transport capability by moving up and down a plurality of rollers arranged in the transport direction of the main transport path in order according to the passage of articles. However, in this case, the plurality of rollers must be configured to be independently operable, and there is a difficulty in that the equipment structure is greatly complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described difficulties in conventional sorting equipment, and performs sorting work of articles stably and reliably without lowering sorting ability or complication of structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sorting facility that can be used.

The present invention is provided at a branching portion of a main transport path for transporting articles, a branch transport path connected to a side portion of the main transport path, and the branch transport path of the main transport path. A plurality of drive-rotating delivery rollers arranged at predetermined intervals in the transport direction and the width direction of the path, respectively, and when the article transported from the transport upstream side of the main transport path is sent to the branch transport path, A sorting apparatus including a sorting device in which a delivery roller projects toward the branch conveyance path and protrudes from a conveyance surface of the main conveyance path,
Out of the plurality of delivery rollers of the sorting apparatus, the delivery roller on the most upstream side of the main transport path is disposed on the upstream side of the transport in the branch portion of the main transport path, and the plurality of delivery rollers of the sorting apparatus Of these, the delivery roller on the most downstream side of the main conveyance path and the most on the branch conveyance path is disposed on an extension of the center line of the branch conveyance path.

  Further, the present invention provides a side edge on the branch conveyance path side in the main conveyance path that is the most downstream in the conveyance path of the main conveyance path among the plurality of delivery rollers of the sorting device. It is characterized by being arranged in the part.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the branch conveyance path comprises a free roller conveyor.

  According to the sorting facility according to the present invention, the sending roller on the most transport upstream side of the main transport path among the plurality of feed rollers is disposed on the transport upstream side in the branch portion of the main transport path, and the most on the main transport path. Since the delivery roller on the downstream side of the conveyance and on the most branch conveyance path side is disposed on the extension of the center line of the branch conveyance path, a large article having a width dimension equal to the width of the branch conveyance path is sent out to the branch conveyance path. Even in this case, the article can be pushed out from almost right behind the center of gravity by the delivery roller that sends out the article last, and the article can be sent out stably and reliably to the branch conveyance path. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary to provide auxiliary driving rollers or the like that actively pull articles into the branch conveyance path, and the equipment configuration can be simplified. In addition, by configuring the branch conveyance path with a free roller conveyor, a simpler and cheaper sorting facility can be provided.

  In addition, the sending roller on the most transport downstream side and the most branch transport path side is arranged on the side edge on the branch transport path side in the main transport path, so that the center of gravity of the article is branched when the feed roller finally pushes the article. It can be located on the conveyance path, and this also allows the articles to be sent out more stably and reliably to the branch conveyance path.

  Furthermore, according to the sorting equipment according to the present invention, since the roller interval between the most upstream transport roller and the most downstream transport roller in the main transport path can be further reduced, The interval between the articles can be set smaller, and the transporting ability and sorting ability of the sorting equipment are not reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the sorting facility 10 according to the present embodiment includes a main conveyance path 1 capable of conveying articles, a branch conveyance path 2 connected to a side portion of the main conveyance path 1, and a branch of the main conveyance path 1. It comprises a sorting device 3 that is arranged in a branching section 11 with the transport path 2 and sends out the articles B transported from the transport upstream side of the main transport path 1 to the branch transport path 2 as necessary. ing. Hereinafter, each component will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The main conveyance path 1 is composed of a belt-driven roller conveyor 12. As shown in FIG. 1, this roller conveyor 12 is configured by a large number of rod-shaped transport rollers 14 supported in a parallel state along a transport direction between a pair of frames 13 extending along the transport direction of the article. Yes. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the drive belt 16 that is spanned by a plurality of pulleys 15 that are pivotally supported by the frame 13 on one side and that is driven by driving means (not shown) comes into contact with the respective transport rollers 14. The transport rollers 14 are rotationally driven all at once. In this way, the article B is transported along the main transport path 1 including the belt-driven roller conveyor 12.

  The branch conveyance path 2 includes a free roller conveyor 21. As shown in FIG. 1, the free roller conveyor 21 includes a plurality of disk-like members interposed between a pair of frames 22 extending in the conveyance direction of the articles via a plurality of support members 23 arranged along the frame 22. The transport roller 24 is supported by a shaft. The article B is conveyed along the branch conveyance path 2 by the driven rotation of the conveyance rollers 24. In addition, in FIG. 1, what is indicated by reference numeral 17 guides an article B provided along the main conveyance path 1 and the branch conveyance path 2 except for a connection portion between the main conveyance path 1 and the branch conveyance path 2. It is a guide to do.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 7, the sorting device 3 can be moved up and down with respect to the fixed frame 4 bolted to the lower side of the frame 13 of the roller conveyor 12 constituting the main conveying path 1. And a plurality of delivery rollers 6 provided on the swing frame 5 so as to be driven to rotate and turn left and right.

  The fixing frame 4 of the sorting apparatus 3 includes a pair of left and right side plates 41, a front horizontal member 42 that connects the pair of side plates 41 with each other at their front portions (on the upstream side of conveyance of the main conveyance path 1), and a pair of side plates. The rear horizontal member 43 is configured to connect 41 to each other at the rear portion (the conveyance downstream side of the main conveyance path 1). On the other hand, the swing frame 5 includes a pair of left and right side plates 51, a pair of side plates 51, a front horizontal member 52 that connects the pair of side plates 51 to each other at their front portions (the conveyance upstream side of the main conveyance path 1), and a pair of side plates 51. A rear horizontal member 53 that connects them at their rear part (on the downstream side of the main conveyance path 1), and a total of three central horizontal members 54 that are installed between the middle parts of the pair of side plates 51, It is configured.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the front horizontal member 42 of the fixed frame 4 is provided with a pair of left and right columns 44, and an elastic support 45 is provided above each column 44, and this elastic support A front horizontal member 52 of the swing frame 5 is fixed to the upper portion of 45. As shown in FIG. 7, an air cylinder 46 is erected on the rear horizontal member 43 of the fixed frame 4, and an elastic support 48 is provided at the upper end of the advance / retreat rod 47 of the air cylinder 46. A rear horizontal member 53 of the swing frame 5 is fixed to the upper portion of the body 48.

  Thus, if the advance / retreat rod 47 of the air cylinder 46 is moved back and forth as required, the rear side of the swing frame 5 is moved up and down with the elastic support 45 on the front side of the swing frame 5 as a fulcrum. The swing frame 5 can be tilted and swung with respect to the transport surface of the main transport path 1. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, by operating the air cylinder 46, the plurality of delivery rollers 6 provided on the swing frame 5 are relatively moved away from the conveyance surface of the main conveyance path 1. Large, raised position protruding in an inclined state (see the two-dot chain line A in FIG. 3), and the conveying surface by the sending roller 6 is relatively small (about 2 mm) from the conveying surface of the main conveying path 1 and protrudes in a horizontal state. It can be moved up and down appropriately between the lowered positions. As shown in FIG. 7, the rear horizontal member 43 of the fixed frame 4 is provided with a pair of upper and lower height-adjustable stoppers 55 so that the upper and lower protruding positions of the feed roller 6 can be adjusted. it can.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a total of 18 delivery rollers 6 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the conveyance direction and the width direction of the main conveyance path 1. That is, a total of six delivery rollers 6 arranged in the width direction of the main transport path 1 are arranged in a total of three rows in the transport direction of the main transport path 1. As shown in FIG. 6, each delivery roller 6 is pivotally supported by a substantially U-shaped bracket 62 while keeping its roller shaft horizontal. Each bracket 62 is pivotally supported by the central horizontal member 54 of the swing frame 5 so as to be able to turn left and right by a vertical axis 63 provided below.

  A groove portion 61 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of each feed roller 6, and a drive shaft 65 including a total of six grooved pulleys 64 is pivotally supported below the central horizontal member 54 of the swing frame 5. ing. A drive belt 66 having elasticity is hung between the groove portion 61 and the grooved pulley 64 of each delivery roller 6. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, a plurality of support pulleys 71 are pivotally supported on the swing frame 5, and a drive belt 73 driven by a motor 72 is spanned between the support pulleys 71. ing. When the drive belt 73 comes into contact with a drive pulley 67 provided at the end of each drive shaft 65, the drive shafts 65 are rotationally driven all at once. Thus, if the motor 72 is operated as required, the delivery rollers 6 can be driven and rotated all at once.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bracket 62 of each delivery roller 6 is provided with a first lever 81, and the first levers 81 have their distal ends in the width direction of the main conveyance path 1. A total of six delivery rollers 6 arranged are connected by a first link 82 so as to be swingable. Further, second levers 83 are provided below the brackets 62 of the three delivery rollers 6 near the center in the width direction of the main conveyance path 1, and the tip portions of the second levers 83 are connected to the second link 84. Are slidably connected. The second link 84 is swingably connected to an advance / retreat rod 87 of an air cylinder 86 fixed to the front horizontal member 52 of the swing frame 5 via a stay 85. Thus, if the advance / retreat rod 87 of the air cylinder 86 is moved back and forth as necessary, each feed roller 6 can be swung left and right, and the direction of each feed roller 6 can be changed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, among the plurality of delivery rollers 6 disposed at predetermined intervals in the conveyance direction and the width direction of the main conveyance path 1, the most upstream delivery roller in the main conveyance path 1. 6A is disposed at a position on the upstream side of the branching portion 11 of the main conveyance path 1. In the present embodiment, a total of six delivery rollers 6 </ b> A arranged in the width direction of the main conveyance path 1 are arranged on the conveyance upstream side in the branch portion 11.

  Further, among the plurality of delivery rollers 6, the delivery roller 6 </ b> B closest to the main conveyance path 1 and closest to the branch conveyance path 2 is disposed on an extension of the center line C of the branch conveyance path 2. Has been. Further, the delivery roller 6B is disposed on a side edge portion of the main conveyance path 1 on the branch conveyance path 2 side.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the sorting operation by the sorting facility 10 of the present embodiment will be described. The sorting facility 10 of the present embodiment sends the article B transported from the upstream side of the transport of the main transport path 1 to the branch transport path 2 according to the sort instruction corresponding to the article B, or the main transport path 1 The articles B are selectively sorted as they are conveyed as they are to the downstream side.

  The sorting equipment 10 of the present embodiment, when sending the article B to the branch conveyance path 2, raises each delivery roller 6 to project larger than the conveyance surface of the main conveyance path 1, and turns each delivery roller 6 to branch. Each delivery roller 6 is driven to rotate in the direction of the conveyance path 2. By causing the article B to enter the delivery roller 6 in this state, the article B is delivered to the branch conveyance path 2 by the delivery roller 6. Each delivery roller 6 of the sorting equipment 10 is driven and rotated when the article B is sent out to the branch conveyance path 2, is directed to the branch conveyance path 2, and even protrudes from the conveyance surface of the main conveyance path 1. What is necessary is just to perform, and the operation | movement order of each operation | movement of rotation operation | movement of each delivery roller 6, turning operation | movement, and an up-down operation | movement can be changed suitably. Further, the driving rotation of the delivery roller 6 may be intermittent or continuous.

  On the other hand, when the article B is conveyed as it is downstream of the main conveyance path 1, the delivery rollers 6 are lowered so that they slightly protrude from the conveyance surface of the main conveyance path 1, and the delivery rollers 6 are turned to rotate the mains. Each delivery roller 6 is driven and rotated toward the conveyance downstream side of the conveyance path 1. By causing the article B to enter the delivery roller 6 in this state, the article B is sent out to the conveyance downstream side of the main conveyance path 1 by the delivery roller 6.

  As described above, according to the sorting equipment 10 of the present embodiment, among the plurality of delivery rollers 6, the delivery roller 6 </ b> A closest to the conveyance upstream side of the main conveyance path 1 is arranged on the conveyance upstream side in the branching section 11 of the main conveyance path 1. The delivery roller 6B closest to the downstream side of the main conveyance path 1 and closest to the branch conveyance path 2 is disposed on the extended line of the center line C of the branch conveyance path 2, so that FIG. As shown, even when a large article B having a width dimension equal to the width of the branch conveyance path 2 is sent out to the branch conveyance path, the delivery roller 6B that sends out the article B most lastly, The article B can be pushed out from almost right behind the center of gravity W, and the article B can be sent out to the branch conveyance path 2 stably and reliably. Therefore, unlike the prior art, it is not necessary to provide auxiliary driving rollers or the like that actively pull the article B into the branch conveyance path 2, and the equipment configuration can be greatly simplified. Further, by configuring the branch conveyance path 2 with the free roller conveyor 21, a simpler and cheaper sorting facility can be provided.

  As shown in FIG. 9, as the width dimension of the article B1 to be sorted becomes smaller than the width of the branch conveyance path 2, the position where the delivery roller 6B finally pushes the article B1 is the center of gravity W1 of the article B1. If the article B1 is preliminarily shifted to the branch conveyance path 2 side on the main conveyance path 1, the delivery roller 6B presses the article B1 against the width-distance-side guide 17 although the article B1 is deviated from the right rear portion. Thus, even in this case, the article B1 can be stably and reliably sent out to the branch conveyance path 2.

  Further, according to the sorting equipment 10 of the present embodiment, the delivery roller 6B is disposed on the side edge portion on the branch conveyance path 2 side in the main conveyance path 1, and therefore, as shown in FIG. When the article B is finally pushed out, the center of gravity W of the article B can be positioned on the branch conveyance path 2, and also by this, the article B can be more stably and reliably delivered to the branch conveyance path 2.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, according to the sorting equipment 10 of the present embodiment, the roller interval D between the sending roller 6A on the most transport upstream side and the sending roller 6B on the most transport downstream side of the main transport path 1 is made smaller. Therefore, the interval between articles during continuous conveyance can be set smaller, and the conveyance capacity and sorting capacity of the sorting equipment are not reduced.

  As mentioned above, although the sorting equipment 10 of this embodiment was demonstrated, this invention can be implemented also with another form.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the feed roller 6 that rotates and feeds the article B is provided so as to be movable up and down and turn left and right. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the feed roller 6 is not limited thereto. However, it may be provided so that it does not move up and down and only turns left and right. In this case, it is necessary to provide each delivery roller 6 at a position protruding from the conveyance surface of the main conveyance path 1 so as to be able to turn left and right. The sorting operation of the articles is performed by turning each delivery roller 6 toward the branch conveyance path 2 or toward the conveyance downstream side of the main conveyance path 1 or by selectively turning left and right.

  Further, the feed roller 6 may be provided so as to perform only vertical movement without turning left and right. In this case, it is necessary to provide in advance the feed roller 6 that faces in the direction of the branch conveyance path 2 so as to be movable up and down. By causing the delivery roller 6 directed in the direction of the branch conveyance path 2 to protrude higher than the conveyance surface of the main conveyance path 1, or to be immersed below the conveyance surface of the main conveyance path 1, or by selectively moving up and down. , Sorting goods.

  In the above embodiment, the delivery roller 6B is disposed on the side edge of the main transport path 1 on the side of the branch transport path 2 on the extension line of the center line C of the branch transport path 2. The invention is by no means limited to this, and the feed roller 6B may be arranged on the extension of the center line C of the branch conveyance path 2 and in the middle of the main conveyance path 1 in the width direction. As a result, the roller interval D can be further reduced.

  In addition, the present invention can be carried out in a mode in which various improvements, modifications and variations are added based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It may be implemented in a form in which any invention specific matter is replaced with another technology within a range where the same action or effect occurs, or the invention specific matter configured integrally may be constituted by a plurality of members. In addition, the invention specific items constituted by a plurality of members may be implemented in an integrated configuration.

It is a whole top view of the sorting equipment of this embodiment. It is a top view of the sorting apparatus of the sorting equipment of this embodiment. It is a side view of the sorting apparatus of the sorting equipment of this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line SS in FIG. 3. It is the TT sectional view taken on the line in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line U-U in FIG. 3. It is the VV sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is a top view explaining the sorting operation | work of the sorting equipment of this embodiment. It is a top view explaining the sorting operation | work of the sorting equipment of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Sorting equipment 1 Main conveyance path 11 Branch part 12 Belt drive type roller conveyor 2 Branch conveyance path 21 Free roller conveyor 3 Sorting device 6, 6A, 6B Delivery roller B, B1 Article C Center line of branch conveyance path

Claims (3)

A main transport path for transporting articles;
A branch conveyance path connected to a side of the main conveyance path;
The main conveyance path includes a plurality of drive-rotating delivery rollers disposed at a branch portion of the main conveyance path with the branch conveyance path and arranged in the conveyance direction and the width direction of the main conveyance path at predetermined intervals, respectively. A sorting device in which when the articles transported from the transport upstream side of the path are sent out to the branch transport path, the sending roller protrudes from the transport surface of the main transport path toward the branch transport path;
Sorting equipment including
Of the plurality of delivery rollers of the sorting device, the delivery roller on the most upstream side of the main conveyance path is disposed on the conveyance upstream side in the branch portion of the main conveyance path,
Out of the plurality of delivery rollers of the sorting device, the delivery roller closest to the downstream side of the main conveyance path and the most downstream side of the branch conveyance path is disposed on an extension of the center line of the branch conveyance path. Characteristic sorting equipment.   Out of the plurality of delivery rollers of the sorting device, the delivery roller closest to the downstream side of the main conveyance path and closest to the branch conveyance path is disposed on a side edge of the main conveyance path on the branch conveyance path side. The sorting equipment according to claim 1.   The sorting facility according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the branch conveyance path includes a free roller conveyor.

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